Former MLB star Lenny Dykstra charged w/ 23 felony counts

Former New York Mets star Lenny Dykstra was charged with 23 felony counts, the district attorney's office announced on Monday.

The 48-year-old is charged with attempted grand theft auto and filing false financial statements for trying to lease cars with phony information. He has also been charged with drug possession.

Authorities say they found cocaine, ecstasy and a synthetic human-growth hormone at his home in Encino following his arrest on April 14.

Two other men, 27-year-old Robert Hymers and 30-year-old Christopher Gavanis, are charged in the auto fraud case.

Dykstra was indicted in May on a federal bankruptcy charge.

According to the D.A.'s office, Dykstra, Hymers and Gavanis tried to lease various high-end vehicles from several area dealerships by allegedly providing fraudulent information and claiming credit through a phony business.

As a member of the 1986 World Champion Mets, Dykstra was one of major league baseball's biggest stars. He was a standout outfielder with the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. Then after retiring, he became a local entrepreneur as the owner of a carwash and other local businesses.